Terrell Owens is still looking for a job. Cut by the Allen Wranglers of the arena league, the mercurial WR is trying to get another year in the NFL. He hasn’t reached out to his old boss with the Cowboys… but Jerry Jones said he’d be helpful if Owens did. So, that’s nice. “First of all, he really can reach out to me at any time,” Jones said. “I consider him a friend and would feel good if he reached out. And I think that he really, without having first-hand knowledge of what kind of physical condition he’s in, I know he’s got the right stuff and could help someone. Actually, I looked at some of the things he did last […]

The Cowboys wrapped up their first day of mandatory mini-camp with everyone accounted for. That was a nice change. All 90 players were around, but not all were on the field. Oh, and one arrived late with a pretty good excuse. A quick run-down of what happened at Valley Ranch: — Mike Jenkins showed up, as we said he would. The disgruntled cornerback was at the Cowboys facility, doing shoulder rehab and avoiding a fine. What he wasn’t doing was talking. After his people asked for a trade, Jenkins may still be upset about his contract situation. But he didn’t talk with reporters, despite showing up in the locker room a few times. That left others to do the talking […]

This past weekend, we caught up with Cowboys TE Jason Witten while he was doing a charity event at a local Walmart. He spoke about TE Rob Gronkowski’s new contract and why he’s involved with the Boys & Girls Club. But Witten also offered some thoughts on minicamp, which begins today at Valley Ranch. CB Mike Jenkins is already present, and so are a bunch of Cowboys teammates. What is Witten looking forward to? A bunch of things… “We got a long way to go,” Witten told me. “I think we don’t really need any more motivation than we already have because of what happened last year. That last game against the Giants… and really they took advantage of that […]

The big news yesterday was that the Patriots rewarded TE Rob Gronkowski with a six-year, $54-million contract extension. It’s a massive reward for the player who set the yardage record and touchdown record at that position last year. Today, the player who is currently the game’s highest paid tight end spoke about that development, offering a serious appreciation for Gronk’s prowess. Representing the FRAM Ready to Role program, Cowboys TE Jason Witten appeared a local Walmart to lead a hands on, under-the-hood, car care skills training deal with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas teens. Before it all happened, I asked Witten for his reaction to Gronk’s new riches. “I think obviously the bar just continues to get raised […]

We’ve read a ton about Mike Jenkins in recent days, as the Cowboys CB is staying home for OTAs. He wants to be traded, yet the Cowboys aren’t into it. Well, the team does have a contingency plan. They could use four cornerbacks on the field at the same time in nickel, which would make Jenkins a pseudo starter. Unconventional? Yup. So is Rob Ryan. Thanks to some help from our buddies at ProFootballFocus.com, we learned it’s rare but not completely unheard of. Really, it’s just an adjustment to today’s pass-happy world. Check out my story on NFL.com about the Cowboys plans to put Jenkins on the field.

It’s the holiday weekend, and everyone is heading off to their various locales. But before you do… let’s take a moment to try to figure out what’s up with Cowboys CB Mike Jenkins. You’ve probably seen by now that sources say the Colts are pushing to trade for him. They appear a little frustrated, though, at some of their offers not getting any traction. As for why that is, a high-ranking Cowboys source told me, “We’re not interested in trading Mike Jenkins.” OK, then. So… What does this all mean? Well, let’s play the semantics game. That’s really how to solve this. The Cowboys say they are not “interested” in trading Jenkins. That’s a little softer than what coach Jason […]

Cowboys WR Dez Bryant is talented. Duh. He’s big, he’s strong, he’s fast, he’s got great hands, he has great balance. Yet we are all still waiting to see how good the former first-round pick from Oklahoma State can be.

One of the best signs for the Dallas Cowboys today during their OTAs was that RB DeMarco Murray was on the field. The second-year player, who showed off some serious skills last year, is coming off a broken ankle suffered on Dec. 11. In part because of his injury, the ‘Boys lost three of their last four and missed the playoffs. When he was healthy, though, he averaged 5.5 yards per carry. The Cowboys, in fact, won all five games in which he had 20 or more carries. Clearly, he’s valuable. And now, they have him back. Murray looked, well, like himself. (Here is what I said about Murray on Total Access.) How did he feel? “It felt great just […]

The Dallas Cowboys wrapped up their second day of OTAs a few minutes ago, but their first open to the media. One player not present was CB Mike Jenkins, who has made known his desire to be traded (for real at some point). He’s also rehabbing a shoulder injury, so he wouldn’t be participating anyway. A few minutes ago, coach Jason Garrett seemed pretty clear on two things: He wants Jenkins to be here, and the team isn’t trading the disgruntled defensive back. “Mike Jenkins, we believe, is a big part of our football team right now,” Garrett said. “He’s making a business decision not to be here. But we’re not going to trade him. We like Mike Jenkins, we […]

Yesterday, while I was doing my thing in Detroit, we learned that Cowboys CB Mike Jenkins is staying home for OTAs. He wants to be traded, I was told, and is still weighing what to do for mandatory mini-camp. Cowboys coach Jason Garrett wants him in town, Jenkins isn’t having it. A few things on this… First, in my opinion, Jenkins is absolutely doing the right thing. His only leverage is to sit out, sit home, and stay away from OTAs that are, by the way, voluntary. Jenkins wants to be traded, and he wants a new deal. The Cowboys want him to play for cheap (in the last year of his rookie contract), serve as a security blanket, and […]

As soon as the Cowboys drafted CB Morris Claiborne, the status of starting CB Mike Jenkins was in doubt. In the final year of his contract, wanting a new pay day, Jenkins was trade bait. And the team did try to trade him. That was two weeks ago. Offers were slim, and any hope of the Cowboys receiving back the second-rounder they gave up to get Claiborne was wishful thinking. Some thought they could get a fourth-rounder for Jenkins, but even that didn’t happen. Dallas officials lamented how teams simply wanted to go with their picks, rather than trade for a proven corner. What now? At the Cowboys annual golf tournament, owner Jerry Jones said yesterday that team now considers […]

If there is one thing I took out of Cowboys rookie mini-camp last week, it’s that defensive coordinator Rob Ryan think this year’s defense will be a lot better than last year’s defense. But it was his reason why that got me thinking. Thanks to the lockout-infused offseason and a much shorter time for acclimation in 2011, Ryan said he rushed the teaching of his scheme in his first year with the Cowboys. That’s why, when it came time for blame, he didn’t put it on his players. He put it on himself as the reason for their bad play. Ryan insisted that this year, he’s going to go about it the right way and build a foundation. “It’s like […]